Phillipe Bittar: As Crowd Gathers To Watch, And Even Film Burning Car, 19-Year-Old Crawls Into Flames To Save Driver’s Life

Phillipe Bittar stood by as the crowd gathered at a Chevron gas station, watching — and some even filming — a car that had burst into flames.

But the 19-year-old Oregon State University student couldn’t stand by himself, and as the rest of the crowd did nothing, he decided to crawl into the burning car and rescue the woman trapped inside.

The story of Bittar’s rescue has quickly gone viral, garnering attention across the country and praise for the pre-med student.

Bittar said he was out with her brother when they saw smoke billowing from the car.

That wasn’t the most shocking part, Bittar said.

“There was like six bystanders just videotaping like oh man she needs to get some help,” he told KPTV.

But the 19-year-old said he couldn’t just watch as the trapped woman died, and it was clear he had to be the one to save her.

“I wasn’t really thinking, I just saw her and knew I had to get her out of there before it gets worse,” Bittar said on Saturday.

Bittar walked up to the car and called to the woman inside, telling her that he was coming to the rescue.

“I told her hey I’m going to pull you out, get away from the window because I have to break it and she’s like okay,” he said.

After he broke the window Bittar reached into the flaming car and pulled the woman out by her arms.

Bittar was able to get the woman free from the car, and she was taken to a nearby hospital.

“I didn’t really have much time to think and process everything as it was happening,” he said. “But seeing the fire and the car and knowing she was out, it really hit me that I saved her life, and it felt really good.”

Rescue crews said the woman most likely would have died if it weren’t for Bittar’s heroic actions.

“His actions were nothing short of heroic,” Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Leonard Damian told OregonLive.com.

Bittar ended up with some cuts from breaking the window, but otherwise was unharmed. The woman is expected to recover.

Saving lives runs in the family for Phillipe. Many of his family members work in the medical field, and Phillipe himself said he wants to become a doctor one day.

But Phillipe Bittar said he doesn’t think he’s a hero, saying instead he “just did what any person’s supposed to do.”

[Picture by Raphael Bittar]